• by Larissa Faw , July 13, 2020

Vice Media Group is attempting to help small local businesses experiencing unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19 by offering free advertising across its websites, potentially reaching millions of eyeballs.

The “Locals Only” initiative invites owners to visit localsonly.vice.com to fill out a brief questionnaire as well as upload advertising creative content. Upon approval, an email will notify the owner or request additional changes.

The advertisement will then be added to the geo-targeted local rotation and uploaded to VICE Media Group’s owned and operated websites.

“The ad building interface that we built from scratch in support of this initiative, allows participants to design a professional looking ad in minutes,” says Paul Opgenhaffen, media director, EMEA, VICE Media Group. “This makes the tool accessible for all small businesses, not just the digital savvy ones.”

Although the company says all businesses are invited to submit their designs, they are focused primarily on those where the company has a prominent presence: New York City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Toronto, Singapore, London, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Berlin, Milan and Paris.

The soft launch has already supported a handful of small businesses, including Kultlab Events in Amsterdam and Exit9 Gift Emporium in New York.